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Renewable fuels from pyrolysis of Dunaliella tertiolecta: An alternative approach to biochemical conversions of microalgae

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  • Söyler, Nejmi
  • Goldfarb, Jillian L.
  • Ceylan, Selim
  • Saçan, Melek Türker

Abstract

The cultivation of microalgae as a feedstock for renewable fuels is widely touted as a way to sequester CO2 while negating food versus fuel competition for land. However, the widespread industrial use of microalgae for biofuels has yet to reach a critical stage based on lipid extraction alone. One alternative to the transesterification of microalgae for liquid fuel production is to use thermochemical conversion techniques. In the present work, we demonstrate that Dunaliella tertiolecta can be converted to biofuels via pyrolysis at temperatures significantly lower than terrestrial biomasses. The primary gaseous pyrolysis products were CO2, H2O, CH4, alcohols, aldehydes, organic acids and phenols. The iso-conversional distributed activation energy model was used to calculate the kinetic parameters, showing average activation energy of 243.3 kJ/mol, with a peak in activation energy at mass fraction conversions between 0.45 and 0.65. However, the substantial amount of pyrolysis gases evolved at low temperatures (between 280 and 320 °C), suggests that pyrolysis at higher temperatures, and especially to completion, might not be necessary to optimize pyrolytic production of biofuels from microalgae.

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  • Söyler, Nejmi & Goldfarb, Jillian L. & Ceylan, Selim & Saçan, Melek Türker, 2017. "Renewable fuels from pyrolysis of Dunaliella tertiolecta: An alternative approach to biochemical conversions of microalgae," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 907-914.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:120:y:2017:i:c:p:907-914
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.11.146
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marcilla, A. & Catalá, L. & García-Quesada, J.C. & Valdés, F.J. & Hernández, M.R., 2013. "A review of thermochemical conversion of microalgae," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 11-19.
    2. López-González, D. & Fernandez-Lopez, M. & Valverde, J.L. & Sanchez-Silva, L., 2014. "Kinetic analysis and thermal characterization of the microalgae combustion process by thermal analysis coupled to mass spectrometry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 227-237.
    3. Raheem, Abdul & Wan Azlina, W.A.K.G. & Taufiq Yap, Y.H. & Danquah, Michael K. & Harun, Razif, 2015. "Thermochemical conversion of microalgal biomass for biofuel production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 990-999.
    4. Chen, Chunxiang & Ma, Xiaoqian & Liu, Kai, 2011. "Thermogravimetric analysis of microalgae combustion under different oxygen supply concentrations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(9), pages 3189-3196.
    5. Tang, Haiying & Abunasser, Nadia & Garcia, M.E.D. & Chen, Meng & Simon Ng, K.Y. & Salley, Steven O., 2011. "Potential of microalgae oil from Dunaliella tertiolecta as a feedstock for biodiesel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(10), pages 3324-3330.
    6. Shuping, Zou & Yulong, Wu & Mingde, Yang & Kaleem, Imdad & Chun, Li & Tong, Junmao, 2010. "Production and characterization of bio-oil from hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae Dunaliella tertiolecta cake," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 5406-5411.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zahedi, Ali Reza & Mirnezami, Seyed Abolfazl, 2020. "Experimental analysis of biomass to biodiesel conversion using a novel renewable combined cycle system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1177-1194.
    2. Kong, Wenwen & Shen, Boxiong & Ma, Jiao & Kong, Jia & Feng, Shuo & Wang, Zhuozhi & Xiong, Lifu, 2022. "Pyrolysis of Spirulina platensis, Tetradesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris by TG-FTIR and Py-GC/MS: Kinetic analysis and pyrolysis behaviour," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PB).

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